Gold rises near 4-month high

Gold extended gains on Monday, hovering near its highest level in almost four months hit last week, and record high exchange-traded fund holdings suggested flight-to-safety buying was gaining pace.

Gold rose to $965.00/966.00 an ounce from $963.00/965.00 late in New York on Friday when it jumped as high as $967.60, its strongest since March 19, as record high oil and falling U.S. equities sparked buying from investors.

Gold was still below a lifetime high of $1,030.80 hit in March. Silver held near its highest level in four months, while platinum matched last week’s one-week high.

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“A retest of the record high is very possible now,” said Adrian Koh, analyst at Philip Futures in Singapore.

Bullion held by SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, jumped to historic highs of 705.90 tonnes, surpassing a previous record around 663 tonnes in March.

“Its definitely very positive for gold now. I guess the break above the $950-$955 region triggered buying and that can be seen in the sharp increase in ETF holdings,” said Koh.